think,â Brunetti observed.
âExactly,â Vianello answered, refusing to abandon his conviction.
âYes,â Brunetti agreed, and then looked up at the sound of footsteps in the corridor. Marvilli was approaching them.
The Captain noticed Vianello and said, âI see your sergeantâs filling you in on what happened.â
Vianello started to speak, but Brunetti forestalled him by getting to his feet and taking a step towards Marvilli. âThe Inspectorâs telling me what heâs been told, Captain,â Brunetti saidwith an easy smile, then added, âThatâs not necessarily the same thing.â
Seamlessly, Marvilli replied, âThat would depend on whom heâs spoken to, I suppose.â
âIâm sure someone will tell us the truth, in the end,â Brunetti countered, wondering if Marvilli was in some sort of caffeine-induced state of agitation.
Marvilliâs response was cut off by the opening of the door to Pedrolliâs room. A man in middle years, vaguely familiar to Brunetti, stepped into the corridor, looking back at something inside. He wore what seemed to be a Harris tweed jacket over a pale yellow sweater, and jeans.
He raised a hand and pointed into the corridor. âOut,â he said in a dangerous voice, his eyes still on something or, it now seemed, someone.
A much younger man, dressed in camouflage fatigues and carrying a machine-gun, appeared just in the doorway. He stopped, his face rigid with confusion, and looked down the corridor. He opened his mouth as if to speak.
The Captain waved him to silence and then jerked his head to one side, commanding him from the room. The man with the gun walked out into the corridor and down to Marvilli, but the Captain repeated the gesture, this time angrily, and the young man continued past him. All of them could hear the sound of his disappearing boots.
When silence returned, the doctor closed the door and approached them. He nodded inrecognition of Vianello, then asked Marvilli, âAre you the person in charge?â His voice was openly aggressive.
âYes, I am,â Marvilli answered, and Brunetti could hear him struggle to keep his voice calm. âMay I ask who you are?â the Captain asked, then added, âand why you ask?â
âBecause Iâm a doctor and Iâve got a patient in there whoâs been the victim of an assault, and since youâre a Carabiniere officer and presumably know whatâs going on, Iâd like to report it and report it as a crime.â
âAssault?â Marvilli asked with feigned curiosity. âYour patient attacked two of my men and broke the nose of one of them. So if thereâs any talk of assault, heâs the one who is more likely to be charged with it.â
The doctor looked at Marvilli with contempt, and made no effort to keep it out of his voice. âI have no idea what your rank is, officer, but unless your men decided to take his clothes off him after fracturing his skull, then your men â and I assume they were armed â were assaulted by a naked man.â After a brief pause, he added, âI donât know where you come from, but in Venice we donât allow the police to beat people up.â He turned away from Marvilli, making it clear that he had said all he wanted to say to him. Addressing Vianello, he said, âInspector, could I have a word with you?â Then, as Vianello started to speak, he added, âInside.â
âOf course, Dottore,â Vianello said. Indicating Brunetti with his right hand, he said, âThis ismy superior, Commissario Brunetti. Heâs very concerned about whatâs gone on here.â
âAh, thatâs who you are,â the doctor said, extending a hand to Brunetti and giving him an easy smile, as though it were perfectly natural to be introduced at four oâclock in the morning. âIâd like to speak to you, as well,â he said, as